Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) lets you run a full Linux terminal and environment on your Windows machine in no time. This includes Debian, Kali Linux, and Ubuntu!

Learning Goals

• Enable and install WSL on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
• Install and run a basic graphical application with WSLg.
• Install and run a more advanced application with WSLg.

Requirements

• A Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine with all updates installed.

Installing WSL

Using Command Line

Open a new Powershell prompt as an administrator and type the following command:

wsl --install

This command activates the necessary features and installs the default Ubuntu distribution from the Microsoft Store. You’ll need to restart your machine for the changes to take effect.

Installing Ubuntu

You can install any Linux distribution available on the Windows Store directly from the command line.

In a Powershell terminal, type:

wsl --list --online

to see all available distributions.

To install a distribution using its NAME, type:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04

To check all your installed distributions and their WSL versions, use: wsl -l -v

Setting Up Ubuntu

You’ve got an Ubuntu Terminal on your Windows machine now. Once the setup is done, open the Ubuntu application from your Windows Start menu and set up a username and password.

(Optional) Turning On systemd

In September 2022, Microsoft announced systemd support for WSL. This update brings in a lot of handy features for managing processes and services, including snapd support, letting users access all the tools and apps on snapcraft.io.

To turn on systemd, you need to make a small change to /etc/wsl.conf in your Ubuntu distribution.

Type sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf to open the file and add the following lines:

[boot] systemd=true

Then, restart your distribution by typing wsl --shutdown in Powershell and opening it again.